Now more than ever before it is imporatnt that we can demonstrate that all our learning and development activities are adding value to the organisation. Talent Management is more than HRM, leadership development initiatives or succession planning. It is the collective approach to recruiting, retaining and developing talent within the organisation for its future benefit, and extends beyond the HR domain to the OD domain including strategy, organisational culture, and change management. The new millennium was ushered in by a dramatic technological revolution. We now live in an increasingly diverse, globalized, and complex, media-saturated society. On top of that organisations are having to downsize, delayer and reorganise to meet the financial challenges We have no idea of what the world will look in five years, much less 20 years, yet we are charged with preparing our current and future workforce for life in that world. Our employees are facing many emerging issues such as global recession; Public Sector Transformation, widening health issues and other environmental and social issues. These issues lead to a need for employees to be able to communicate, function and create change personally, socially, economically and politically on local regional and national level. Our approach to talent management requires a more coordinated approach between or strategic HRM function and our Learning & OD functions. Our aspirations for talent management need to be congruent with the wider corporate visions and values and should be clearly and strategically aligned to performance outcomes. We believe that authentic talent management development addresses the “whole person”, and does not limit our activities to maintaining workplace practices and/or ensuring compliance but helps develop a readiness and acceptance for individuals to embrace the wider remit of performance improvement, putting learning in to practice, reflecting and truly adding value to the organisation. In an attempt attempt to take a more joined up approach we undoubtedly seek an technological solution to help solve the problem. Our leadership will define the vison and strategy for the future, effective leadedrship will help to reinforce the the organisational culture espoused. Our management prtactices in turn will need to be developed to reflect this new culture and the policies procedures and systems used to execute those management practices refreshed inlight of our aspirations. Our employees will be engaged and motivated to perform through a clearly articulated alignement to the ‘Bigger Picture’ reinforcing their own individual task and development need. Measured through effective performance management systems. There was once a time when using technology as part of the learning or training and development function was a laudable aim but prohibitively costly. In time it became a reality for organisations to have training rooms kitted out with expensive hardware that enabled employees to access the learning in more adventurous and high-tech ways. Access to the internet, user-friendly software and multi media stations became the jewel in the crown of many coroprate training departments. Then came the advent of interactive whiteboards, enabling organisations to claim even wider IT accessibility, the classroom took on a new role facilitaed by this emergent technology, learners were swapped for managers who attempted to enegage in smarter meetings (although albeit to differing degrees of scuccess). Investment was now being directed towards classroom technology, and away from traditional resources as the learning and development professional sought new ways to enage with and deliver training in this new era of ‘blendid’ learning . However, fast forward to 2011 and we find organisations are moving beyond the idea that hardware is merley a nice to have for the learning centre and the individual. Instead, senior managers are investing their strategic planning in the more creative and efficient use of technology. Organisations are taking a whole systems approach to transformation, seeking opportunities to ensure that Vision and Aspirations of the organisation reflect the way in which the organisation sees itself operating now and well in to the future. Our talent management practices, maximise the systems we have at our disposal that the behaviours and competence espoused for the workforce reinforce the culture, values narrated by our Leaders through the vision. As we find ourselves opearting in an increasingly competitive market place, the knolwedge skills and competence of the workforce is once again at the forefront of organisational success. Senior Managers are keen to ensure that strategic workforce planning successfully, identifies the skills and competencies required of the workforce and that thes are mapped in to appropraite learning pathways that support organisational improvement. Intergrated performance and learning managements sytems are a crucial part of the talent management jigsaw providing opportunity to taregt development against genuine/prioritised business needs. Whilst alsos providing the means on which to assess performance and competence helping identify areas for improvement.